


there's hope in defeat

by altilis



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn
Genre: 8059, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-06-06
Updated: 2008-06-06
Packaged: 2017-10-12 06:09:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/121679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/altilis/pseuds/altilis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set immediately before, during, and immediately after the fight with Gamma.</p>
            </blockquote>





	there's hope in defeat

**Author's Note:**

> Written for neneno @ lj.

The beds were spread amongst the compound in groups of two and three. Tsuna had aimlessly wandered into a room with two other beds, and had flopped down onto the bed closest to the door, exhausted. Gokudera took it upon himself to claim the very next one, "Nothing will come between me and Tenth!", and glared at Yamamoto, daring him to step forward and protest. He didn't.

Reborn had then looked to the third bed, the farthest from the door, and then looked at Yamamoto, and asked: "How about you take the last one, Yamamoto?"

Yamamoto looked down at Reborn, eyebrow slightly quirked, before he looked at the last bed; he grinned. "All right, sure, kid." He left it at that, walking over to lie across the mattress and casually ignore Gokudera's burning glare from across the space.

\--

When the fight with Gamma had come, Yamamoto would be lying if he said that he wasn't hurt, when Gokudera flat-out rejected his help. It wasn't that the rejection made him feel inadequate, and it hadn't really been that Gokudera was being destructively divisive (though he was). Yamamoto just knew that Gokudera couldn't handle Gamma alone.

He just stood there, watching him get electrocuted by that heartless bastard, until the pain in his chest grew too much for his conscience. He stepped in and told Gokudera what he needed to hear.

It was too bad that, even together, with Gokudera having some sense, they still couldn't defeat Gamma. But the bitterness of defeat didn't taste so bad against the hidden victory Yamamoto had accomplished with it. Against the pain, the thought still made him smile.

\--

Yamamoto came back from dinner—which Gokudera skipped—to find the missing teen sitting in their room, on the side of the bed. He sat nearer the small, shared table between their beds, his back to the door and completely unaware.

"Hey."

Gokudera jumped at the sound, spinning in his seat to face him, while also reaching his hand back and placing something on the table—a small chink of ring against wood. "What are you--?!"

"I sleep here too, you know!" Yamamoto laughed, his usual carefree self. He walked over to sit down on his own bed, directly across from Gokudera. He looked at the bed table, and saw his own Rain ring lying plainly on the surface. He had taken it off before dinner.

There passed a silence between them: Gokudera looking to the side, Yamamoto looking to his ring. Then, he reached out and grabbed it, slipping it securely onto his finger. Gokudera broke the silence, "I was just look—"

"It's okay." Yamamoto waved off his worries and leaned back on his hands, watching the teen across from him casually; the other wouldn't meet his gaze so nonchalantly. But he made another attempt at conversation.

"Yamamoto. . . what you said yesterday…" He paused, and sighed. Gokudera leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, hanging his head. "I would never want to hurt Tenth, never—"

"I know."

"And I—"

"Gokudera," Yamamoto stopped him before he could go further; he got up from his bed to sit next to the other, putting a bandaged hand on Gokudera's shoulder. After the fight with Gamma, they were both bandaged pretty liberally, and still sore in many places; Gokudera winced slightly at the touch. "You're missing the point."

He pulled him to lie flat on his back, so that Gokudera could look up at the ceiling and Yamamoto's _look_ , how his smile had disappeared and the concern flooded his eyes. "This," Yamamoto prodded him in the shoulder with his thumb, causing him to wince again. "And this," He lifted his hand to point to the bandage on his own cheek. "And this," He touched Gokudera's chest with his open palm. "And this," He grasped his broken wrist, albeit with care. That still didn't stop Gokudera from rolling onto his side, swearing. "This is what happens when you do it alone. You think this doesn't hurt Tsuna, too? To see us both hurt?"

Another thick silence echoed through the room, as Gokudera stared up at him, eyes wide and guilty—but they both relaxed when a smile began to creep on Yamamoto's lips. He let go of Gokudera's wrist, and flopped down to lie next to him, with one leg propped comfortably on the edge. Gokudera dragged himself up (with his unbroken hand) to be even with him across the mattress. "That hurt," Gokudera grumbled.

"You're not the only one." Yamamoto stretched out his hands towards the ceiling with a sigh—glancing over his both-bandaged arms, and slowly set down his hands—one at his side, the other to rest on the bed by Gokudera's head, so he could catch a fine silver lock between his fingertips.

"…You're an idiot," Gokudera finally came to the conclusion, staring up at the ceiling as he felt a mild tug at his hair. "A too-forgiving, good-guy, fuckin' righteous idiot and—and—" And he paused as his voice strained.

Yamamoto chuckled, glancing over to see Gokudera biting his lip, angrily glaring at the ceiling instead of bothering to look his way. He grinned. "You'll thank me later?"

"…yeah. Later." He closed his eyes. "If we ever get out of this mess."

Yamamoto then ran his hand through his hair, ruffling it, before he finally graced his thumb by Gokudera's cheek. "Have faith in Tsuna, will you?" He could feel the hot flush beneath his fingertips, and he laughed again.

\--

When Tsuna finally came into sleep, he found his Rain and Storm guardians sleeping in the same bed. They shared the equal halves of the mattress, their backs to one another, not touching. Unlike their owners, the rings lay nestled together in a dual heap on the bedside table.


End file.
